If you are trying to do your roof on your own, you are going to work with something called aluminum fascia. And you have to bend it using a tool called a brake. But when you need to attach just a few of them buying a brake is not economical. So, how to bend aluminum fascia without a brake, then?
Aluminum fascia or metal sheets need to be bent at a certain angle to be used on the roof. And a brake can do that easily for you. But there is an alternative homemade solution to the problem as well. You can use some pieces of wood and hinges to make a homemade brake for you.
It might sound like a tough task but it is not. You just need to know how to assemble the right parts together to make the tool. We will describe the making procedure step by step in detail. Just pick up the parts and follow our instructions to get it done. Let’s go.
How to bend aluminum fascia without a brake?
Step-1: Prepare the wood pieces
- Cut two lumbers of wood for this purpose using a saw.
- The measurements will depend on the length of the aluminum fascia. But you can cut them 2 feet long and 2 inches by 4 inches in general. The length may vary.
Step-2: Attach the hinges to one board
- Now take 3 hinges to attach the two pieces of wood together.
- Attach two of them at both ends of one wood board at the 2 inches side. And the last one goes at the center of the board. Attach them using screws.
- Remember you need to attach the hinges such that the two boards will be attached to it and will still be able to lay flat on each other.
Step-3: Join the two boards with the hinges
- When the hinges are attached to one of the wood boards, lay it on the work surface on its 4 inches side.
- Make sure the hinges are facing up.
- Now attach the other wood board to the hinges using screws.
Step-4: Attach the pullers
- Now that the two boards are joined together, you need to attach some pullers.
- Attach 2/3 wood lumbers vertically to one of the boards.
- Attach them to the opposite side of the board that is connected to the hinge.
Step-5: Attach the tool to the work surface
- Now attach the tool to one end of the work surface which can be a wooden table or anything.
- You will attach the tool with the work surface at the 4 inches side of the board without the pullers.
- The hinge will be right at the edge of the work surface and the board with the pullers will be free to move over the surface.
- The pullers can be used to move the attached board as much as necessary.
Step-6: Attach the aluminum fascia
- Now take the aluminum fascia and place it on the work surface.
- The line where the fascia will be bent will have to be placed right on the hinge aligned with it.
- Take another lumber of wood, put it on the fascia, and attach it to the surface.
- Screw the wood piece just a little outside where the aluminum fascia ends. And also, screw it at the middle point. The holes can be taken care of later.
Step-7: The final step
- Now that the tool is placed and the aluminum fascia is also ready to be bent it is time to start the bending.
- Take the pullers in your hands. Of course, you can hold two of them. If you have attached three of them let someone help you or you can alternate between the pullers during the process.
- Now start pulling the free-board of the tool upwards using the pullers.
- The aluminum fascia will start to bend. Keep doing it until you get the desired output angle.
- Congratulations you have done it!
But it is always better to use a siding brake for the best result. We have created a detailed guideline on the best siding brake. You can check our guidelines and review for the best siding brake.
How to bend fascia corners without a brake?
- You don’t actually need anything like a brake to bend an aluminum fascia around the corners.
- You just need to trim it at a certain angle right at the point you need to bend it and then you can bend it with your bare hands.
- So, first, take a square and a pencil and mark the line where the fascia should be bent.
- Then cut the fascia through that line at the shorter side. And see which way it bends easily.
- Then again from the point where the two sides of the fascia meet draw a 45 degrees line to the end of the shorter side.
- Cut the part out that is in between the two lines.
- Now bend the fascia and it will bend and the gap that you cut will be filled by the bend.
- Your job is done here.
FAQ
Can you bend aluminum fascia?
Of course, you can. That’s the whole point of using aluminum for the fascia. Aluminum is a very durable yet bendable metal. You can make aluminum sheets very thin yet very strong. So, you can bend them the way you like and they will not break easily.
Can you bend Aluminum by hand?
Yes, you can. But it will depend on the thickness of the aluminum sheet. Depending on the thickness you might have to use one or both of your hands to bend an aluminum sheet. And if you place it just correctly and hold it with a tool, you will be able to bend it better with your hands.
Conclusion
The effectiveness of the aluminum fascia depends on the right installation. And right installation requires bending them correctly. You can always do it using the tool, brake that was made for this purpose. But if you don’t have one you now know how to bend aluminum fascia without a brake.
The method we suggested and described in detail is not costly or hard to implement. Just some familiar materials and proper knowledge of how to get it done. And we provided you with the knowledge. So, if you follow the steps correctly, your aluminum fascia will get bent without a brake.